Thursday, 5 March 2015

Low pay in Tory Britain is hurting our economy..

New ONS figures show that pay in Hyndburn is amongst the lowest in the North West – with average salaries almost £5,000 less than the rest of the region – £25,000 compared to £29,900.

I know for a lot of people even £25,000 feels like a big leap from what they are currently on, as many people are simply not seeing their pay keep up with the massive cost of living increases under this Tory government.

Across the North West, 2 in every 5 jobs do not pay the living wage – this is the amount of money an individual requires to cover the basic costs of living.

On top of this news on pay, further numbers from the Office for National Statistics have revealed that 77,000 people in the North West are working on zero-hours contracts.

While the David Cameron makes grand claims about the economic recovery, the reality is that many people are just not feeling it in Haslingden and Hyndburn – with job insecurity and falling pay.

What’s more, between November 2014 and January this year, unemployment in Hyndburn actually increased by over 100 people. This proves just how complacent the Tories sound when they say ‘job done’ on the economy.

Labour has a better plan for living standards: supporting working people and making work pay by raising the Minimum Wage to £8 an hour before 2020 and banning exploitative zero-hours contracts, introducing tough and fair immigration controls, freezing energy bills until 2017, and expanding free childcare for working parents to 25 hours a week.

These are real policies that would actually reach people in Haslingden and Hyndburn – rather than Tory tax cuts for millionaires, I want to see action to help real people in our area.

The Labour Party

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